Chinese LGBT Movies/Dramas

(updated 9/4/2018)

Advance Bravery 2017

Sergeant Xia Yao, born into a wealthy and renown ancestry, is a playboy who has turned over a new leaf. Yuan Zong is an ex-soldier from the special forces who opened a bodyguard training company after being discharged.

When Yuan Ru, Yuan Zong’s little sister fell for Xia Yao’s charms, but could not break down his erected barriers, she came to Yuan Zing for assistance. The moment Yuan Zing saw Xia Yao, he knew no other person would ever catch his eyes.

And so begins the battle between brother and sister for the most coveted price – Xia Yao’s heart.

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline/

Stephanie’s Note: Huh. Part of this sounds great but then the brother/sister love triangle can’t be good and may chase me away.

Alternative Love 2016

Huh. Can’t find a synopsis on this one, let’s see if I can’t make one up. New kid in town gets a heart on for one of his only friend’s boyfriend. Manages to get friend’s boyfriend to like him, causing his only friend to turn on him. Then friend’s boyfriend (now his boyfriend) fights with his mom, mom ends up in the hospital, movie ends in a angsty rain scene between the boyfriend, boyfriend, and ex-girlfriend. Apparently, there will be a ‘season’ 2, but this is badly acted, very badly written, and should just be a pass. There are so many more out there that are better than this piece of gay baiting. (Apparently I have OH-pinions on this movie…)

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline/Open ending

Approach to Love (2013) China Movie

Gay coming of age film taking place in university.

Approach to Love 2 (2016) China Movie

The film starts one year after the stories of ‘Approach to Love’ have unfolded. Main character Wu Shuang broke up with Chen Wei, with whom he was in a long-distance relationship. He suffers physically and mentally and engages in random sex in order to stop the pain. At a sex date, Wu met Wang Yunchao, who is a teacher at his university. Wang started to stalk him, up until Wu relented and fell for him too. Wu found the courage to forget the past, and opened himself up to a new relationship. However, at that moment, Wang left him.

Attraction 2016 Chinese

Attraction is a fantasy web movie. It talks about the meeting between 2 straight boys from different social circles, and their story from a fantasy point of view. The story is pieced together with a few short chapters of stories

Movie/gay/main storyline

Stephanie note: This is pretty terrible.

Awakening Love (2017) Chinese

No synposis

Stephanie’s Take: That poster looks adorable, but it is Chinese so I don’t expect it to end well.

Bad Romance 2011

7 young men and women and their three stories involved with heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual affairs that happened in Beijing. A single mom meets a young student; A city boy meets a guy of his dream; A girl falls into a love game of a male and a female fellows in her French class.

Movie/Gay/Lesbian/Main Storyline

Beloved Enemy 2017 China

Right on elite businessman Gu Qing Pei’s first day of work at his new workplace, the chairman throws his vigorous and arrogant son Yuan Yang at him. Yuan Yang sees through Qing Pei’s hypocrite mask, but due to his father pressuring him, he can’t hit him. Therefore, Yuan Yang learns for the first time that there are things that can’t be taken care of by money or fists. He continuously tries to get Qing Pei into trouble, but Qing Pei sees it lightly and calmy resolves every issue. However, things are about to change when Yuan Yang asks his friends to do a background check on Qing Pei and finally finds his Achilles heel.

Series/

Stephanie’s Note: From the reviews, this isn’t so much gay as it is gay-baiting however, since it’s from China in the last few months, I’m giving it a pass as, since their LGBT restrictions have gotten so tight, I’m guessing it’s the only thing they can get through the sensors.

CEO and His Man 2015

Xiao Mau falls in love with Wu Si Cong the minute he meets him at a friend’s birthday party. He does everything he can to try to win Wu Si Cong over, only problem is that Wu Si Cong is a married man.

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline/Happy Ending

Stephanie Note: Pretty terrible with an ending that may or may not be happy?

Chinese Botanist’s Daughters 2006

At the house of a famous Chinese botanist teacher his daughter and a female intern fall in love with each other – a forbidden love that must be kept secret.

Movie/Lesbian/Main Storyline

Chinese Boy Love Story 2013

Short gay movie about 2 guys who fall in love. But the parents are against their relationship. Will they overcome the obstacles in their life, so that they can be together?

Short Movie/Gay/Main Storyline/Happy Ending

Stephanie Note: Short cuteness.

Customized Companion 2017

The love between two guys in a long-term relationship has faded and each look outside the relationship to a phone app that summons a customized virtual companion, hoping to find what they have lost between each other.

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline

East Palace, West Palace 1995

A park in the midst of Beijing, surrounded by old palaces, is frequently searched by the local police as it is one of the secret meeting places for the local gay scene. The young writer A Lan on several occasions runs into policeman Xiao Shi who ends up arresting the young man one evening and takes him to the park’s police station. After one intense night of interrogation which turns into A Lan telling the story of his past, Xiao Shi finds himself wondering whether his arrest of A Lan had other motives than he initially thought. This movie was forbidden by chinese authorities for its open depiction of homosexuality in Mainland China when it first came out and director Yuan Zhang was arrested for a short time and his passport taken away from him temporarily. Yet he managed to get a copy of the movie out of the country and “East Palace West Palace” has been aired at prestigeous film festivals all over the world.

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline

Fanatic Love 2016

No synopsis to be found so let me try my hand. Boys enter alternate video game world in order for one to win back his first love.

Stephanie’s Note: This is one crazy pants drama. I tried to explain to Cherry on the podcast and ended up just making it sound crazier and crazier. Oddly though, I think you should check out this trainwreck.

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline/Happy Ending

From Now To The Past (2015) Chinese

An 8 minute short film about a groom, who kisses his best man the night before he gets married. Only for the wedding to end in blood.

Short film/Gay

Stephanie’s Take: From the synopsis? Something tells me this can not go well.

Go Princess Go 2016

Zhang Peng is a playboy who hits his head as he falls into a pool when he’s trying to run away from an ex-girlfriend. He wakes up to find that he’s traveled a thousand years into the past. But, that’s not even the biggest problem, he also wakes up as the crown princess of the dynasty – Zhang Peng Peng. Hilarity ensues as Zhang Peng weighs between trying to get back to his time and leveraging his new female identity to seduce all the concubines and women he can.

Web drama/Uhhh…gay? Transgender?/Main Storyline

Stephanie Note: Cherry seems to be enjoying this campy fun.

Hard To Give Up – 2016

It’s a story of a painter, Su He, who is nervous looking for inspiration for one of his works that will be displayed in an important exhibition. In the search of models for artistic nude drawing, gets to know a boy, Er Meng, who catches his attention, and slowly he ends up seeing more and more attracted to him, although he doesn’t know yet how he feels, and what kind of relationship they are in.

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline

Heroin 2016

Ever since he was young, Bai Luo Yin has been living with his careless father, Bai Han Qi and his grandmother. When he turned 16 years old, his biological mother Jiang Yuan is re-marrying, and her partner is the party’s high-ranking official, Gu Wei Ting. Because of his mother’s death, Gu Wei Ting’s son, Gu Hai, has been harboring a deep grudge towards his father. Due to the random hand of fate, the 2 brothers with wildly conflicting emotional backgrounds have been placed in the same class. With time, they slowly developed a different kind of feeling. ~~ Based on a BL novel by Chai Jidan.

Web Drama/Gay/Main Storyline/Please Let It Be A Happy Ending

Stephanie Note: This is awesome. The original book is written by the same person who did CounterAttack so I was expecting it to be the same cheesy awful, but I’m really enjoying the story. You can read my full review here.

Innate Differences (2016) Chinese

No Synopsis

Irresistible Love- Secret of the Valet (Also known as Uncontrolled Love) 2016

When Shu Nian was 12-year-old, he was adopted by Xie Yan from an orphanage. Shu was 5 years older than Xie and he worked as a page boy for him until Xie went abroad to study(page boy: a kind of servants that study and play with master’s children). The main story begins after Xie return home when he was 25 years old (Shu was nearly 30). Xie had a slight tendency of homophobia and after he returned home he noticed that Shu was gay. He knew himself was not gay but he cannot control himself, he just fell in love with Shu.

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline/Open Ended (season 2 in the works)

Stephanie’s Note: Eh. This movie is not so good. And when I say not so good. It’s really bad. The boss is a bit of a douche who’s push me, pull me attitude is maddening.

Uncontrolled Love 2 2016

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline/TERRRIBLE ENDING GAH

Stephanie Note: Did you not see my TERRIBLE ENDING?? THIS IS TERRIBLE. Review coming soon to a blog near you. (Mine)

Stephanie Note II: Turns out the end was not the end. Ends happily (or as happily as this story can.)

My Boyfriend 2017 China

*I can’t find a description on this one, but I’ll keep trying. It looks pretty smoochy, but it is chinese, so I’m guessing it a fake out, although, it looks like it did come out before the new ban, so maybe it snuck through the cracks!

My Fair Son 2009

“My Fair Son” is a tender and touching tale about a father and son trying to reconcile their separate lives. Ray, a tall, thin and handsome young man returns to live with his father after having grown up with his grandfather. He is angry and disconnected over his father’s middle-class lifestyle and hardline ways. Ray enrolls in art school where he makes new friends and starts a relationship with an another student. One morning, Dad discovers the two young men naked in bed and, after being surprised, he must begin to understand his own feelings toward homosexuality. Then Ray meets Bo, one of his dad’s top employees. From the start, sparks fly and Ray falls in love. But Bo is to be married, how will the two connect and what will Ray s father think?

Stephanie Note: Tried to watch this but couldn’t. Pretty poor production quality.

Nobody Knows But Me 2015

An offbeat love story about campus life around the An Zi Yan and Mai Ding who start military training as college acquaintances, Mai Ding was the one who made the first move to An Zi Yan, they have a good relationship and gradually felt sparks. After their relationship strengthens, their relationship is obstructed by their family and friends, like An Zi Yan’s sister Ansul who has a difficult attitude. An Zi Yan secretly asks help from his ex-girlfriend Bai Xiao Si. ~~ Based off of the best-selling novel of the same name by Angelina.

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline/Happy Ending

Stephanie Note: I liked Like Love the first movie in the series because it didn’t play to makjang stereotypes, but this one? Yeah, every angsty thing that could happen did—and then it ended on an obvious cliff-hanger for part 3—and it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Not to mention all the online versions cut out all the boom boom jiggity scenes.

Like Love 2014

An offbeat love story about campus life around the An Zi Yan and Mai Ding who start military training as college acquaintances, Mai Ding was the one who made the first move to An Zi Yan, they have a good relationship and gradually felt sparks. After their relationship strengthens, their relationship is obstructed by their family and friends, like An Zi Yan’s sister Ansul who has a difficult attitude. An Zi Yan secretly asks help from his ex-girlfriend Bai Xiao Si. ~~ The film is adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name by Angelina.

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline/Happy Ending

Stephanie Note: This drama has poor production value, terrible writing with huge plot holes, and yet, I watch it again and again. I do really love the story of Mai Ding and An Zi Yan.

Like Love 3; 2016

An offbeat love story about campus life around the An Zi Yan and Mai Ding who start military training as college acquaintances, Mai Ding was the one who made the first move to An Zi Yan, they have a good relationship and gradually felt sparks. After their relationship strengthens, their relationship is obstructed by their family and friends, like An Zi Yan’s sister Ansul who has a difficult attitude. An Zi Yan secretly asks help from his ex-girlfriend Bai Xiao Si. ~~ The film is adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name by Angelina.

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline

Lost Love 2016

Movie/gay/main storyline/from the comments online? Sad, sad, sad ending. As it is a Chinese movie, I’m apt to agree.

Love Is More Than A Word 2016 (August)

Tao Mo is a playful guy with a good family background. He had spent 5000 bucks to buys a county magistrate position in Tanyang. Tan Yang is a well-known place for barristers because both of the top barristers, Lin Zheng Yong and Yi Chui are staying at there.

Tao Mo is illiterate and uneducated, but he is truly repentant and hopes to become a dedicated magistrate for the sake of his fatherthat already passed away. Not long after he took up the official post, he met Gu She, a student of the top barrister, Yi Chui, and having some feelings with him. Gu She is narcissistic and indulge in self-admiration, however the way of how honest is Tao Mo in judging and handling cases in his own way has caught Gu She’s attention towards Tao Mo.

It looks like just an ordinary story of how determined is Tao Mo to becomes a good magistrate for his father, but there are many mysteries that lying at behind.

Series/Gay/Main Storyline

Stephanie Note: You have BETTER tell me when this comes out and you find it subbed!!!!

Stephanie Note: Come on and put this movie already, and you’d better be good! GAH! I just realized it has the guy who plays Ahn Zi Yan from Like Love in it. I must see this!

The Male Fairy Fox of Liaozhai 2016

Liao Zhai Zhi Yi, or Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, is a collection of nearly five hundred mostly supernatural tales published during the early Qing Dynasty. One select of stories, Liao Zhai Qi Nü Zi, tells four stories about some beautiful unique women’s life. This would be a BL (Boys Love adaptation of this). They are Chinese fantasies and fairy tales, usually these stories end up kind of happy, and not usually sad, but there are still sad endings.

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline/Open Ending

Stephanie’s Take: I watched this. Not entirely certain it was actually LGBT. Maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention but it seemed a bit more gay-baiting than anything. Which, as it’s Chinese makes sense.

Mr X. and I

Chinese BL series with four different gay love stories based on real-life events: “Us Against the World” (Ep. 1), “Beijing Beijing” (Ep. 2), “The Groomsman” (Ep. 3) and “Promise You a City” (Ep. 4).

Stephanie Note: Eh, not great. Do yourself a favor and just skip to season 2.

Mr X. and I Season 2

Season 2 of the “Mr. X and I” series. This time the story focuses on Xu Zhengxi, a boy who unexpectedly found himself falling in love with his straight best friend Tao Ye.

Short Series/Gay/Main Storyline/Happy Ending

Stephanie Note: This is a really great story and I recommend you giving it a try.

My Roommate is a Fairy Fox

Why is there no synopsis for this one? Please, I can not even begin to tell you what this story is about. An alternate realm with mythical beings? That somehow are connected to the present and come over to this side?

Series/Possibly Gay/Main Storyline

Stephanie’s Note: I’m not entirely certain this show is actually going to be gay. However, I’m mid watch, or at like 7 episodes, early in the watch and surprisingly I’m really enjoying it. I’ll keep you updated.

Queer China, ‘Comrade’ China (2009)

This documentary reviews and summarizes the development of homosexuality as an issue in the past three decades in China. We interviewed thirty prominent figures in the gay community, who have experienced the changes of views and lifestyles regarding homosexuality.

Documentary/Gay/Lesbian/Main Storyline

Round Trip To Love 2016

Two boys at school fall in love, but their families are split up and send one to another country. They meet for several years at one company as a subordinate and boss. They become secret lovers, but the coincidence is again divided into several years. She secretly forty years as men who already have families. Their relationship restarters disrupt disease.

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline/Haven’t seen it but when it’s said right in the description, tragedy I’m going to go with no.

A Round Trip to Love Part 2 2016

Continuation of A Round Trip to Love

Movie/gay/main storyline/bad,bad,bad ending. (According to the flame of comments online)

Spring Fever 2009

China, 2007, Spring. The protagonist is a private investigator hired to spy on a man who is having an affair with another man. However, the investigator becomes entangled in a love triangle with the boyfriend of the man he’s investigating and his own girlfriend.

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline

That Room (2014)

A man whose lover committed suicide, and the struggle of wanting to stay close to his spirit by staying in that room.

Short Film/Gay/Main storyline/did you see that premise? So sad.

Stephanie’s Take: Gah, so heartbreaking, still crying a river.

Third Country (2017)

Not wanting to face the death of his father, Lin Qing Yu, alone in Li Jiang, unexpectedly lost wallet and was hired to be a school teacher for the Naxi people. Feelings develop between him and A Ren, a local who supports Lin Qing Yu. When the two open their hearts, they exchange keepsakes. But when these feelings of what the Naxi find unacceptable occurred in the remote mountains of ethnic minorities,what choice will A Ren make between tradition and love?

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline/Bittersweet ending

Stephanie’s Take: As soon as he explained the Third Country, I knew this was not going to end well for them…

This Summer (2015)

A sweet and delicate Chinese short movie: A boy breaks up with his girlfriend and remains alone. Later, he finds a wounded cat in front of the door house and decides to take care of him. Can a cat become your life partner?

Short Film/Gay

Stephanie’s Take: Not entirely certain how LGBT this is.

Til Death Do Us Part 2017

Liu Yu Sheng hails from a rich family. After studying abroad, he returns home to find his asset/inheritance stolen by his other family members. To make a living, he has to work as a teacher at a small school. In this hopeless state, he meets an old friend in Zhou Yao Hua, who harbors a crush on him for the longest time. Thus begins Yu Sheng’s rounds of difficult choices.

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline/

To You For Me 2014

A short film about making relationship choices, and second chances. Starring Ian Lao, Paul Wong, Sabrina Tam, and Jeffrey Mak.

Short Movie/Gay/Main Storyline/Who the fudge knows? I’m going to go with sad, but it kind of looks like they go back in time one last time?

Stephanie Note: Kind of like a life redo that continues to end badly. Trying to wrap my brain around that last ending and what that means.

The Underwear (2017)

A story about the lives and relationships of young adults and teenagers and how they all connect through The Underwear Forum.

Series/Gay/Side story

Yandai byway no.10 – 2016 China

This is a love story between a ‘weirdo’, the novelist, Liang Ze and a ‘nice guy’, the pet shop owner, Hang Hang. Both of them know each other through Hang Hang’s online pet shop and meet each other for the first time in No.10 YanDaiXie Street, the address of Hang Hang’s physical store. Their funny story begins with the inquiry of Liang Ze to Hang Hang on something about his beloved chinchillas.

Movie/Gay/Main Storyline/Sad or happy ending depending on where you stop

Stephanie’s Note: currently watching this one. It’s cute and fluffy, I’m a little concerned because I read youtube comments that it ends badly, but then they say that there are two bonus episodes that show a happily ever after, so I will continue pushing forward.

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LAUGH! Sorry about that. 🙂 Unfortunately, with the Chinese movies, I’m not sure if it’s because of the censors or what but a lot of them are of either really poor quality or have really, really bad (especially sad) endings. A couple of my favorites do come from there though, I really like Heroin and Like Love. (Though, I’m super bummed where Like Love 2 ended.)

you should definitely check out HIStory! it’s a really funny short drama with an adorable ending. considering the description of the show felt a bit gaybait-ish and the fact that it’s a chinese drama, it surprised me how it didn’t shy away from the relationship between the two boys and the struggles one of them had while accepting his sexuality. it’s really good and worth watching!

just to clarify, HIStory are four bl series that are connected by a similar theme. the one i was talking about was HIStory: My Hero. i haven’t seen the other ones yet, but i’m really hoping they’re as good as the first one.

You should check out HIStory 2: Crossing the Line
It’s one of my favorites. There are three(?) couples. The main, the side brothers(not related, so I support.), and then the twins(not fully supporting that because, they are twins! Incest). The twins only have one scene that really said, “Hey, these two are gay as well.” Other than that, they just looked like close brothers. The ‘brothers’ were really cute, and some people might not it, but they are only brothers because their parents got married, but their story is still really cute, and how they act(<3). The main story has a heartbreaking scene leading up to the good ending! And all this is based around volleyball.

But basically it’s about two guys who are aspiring musicians….one is nerdy and write songs…one is a rich kid who ran away from home to pursue music….and they end up living together….while a persistent girl stalks the nerdy kid. ..

There is also another movie called Unwilling Marriage or you can find under Love Online Movie as this is the spinoff of the Love Online Series…..its about a rich playboy and a celebrity
(Not explicit BL but implied…they are practically living together)

Guardian is based on a BL novel by Priest, but because of the censors they turned the explicit romance into “bromance”/brotherly love. It’s still pretty damn gay, though, as the actors and writers really committed themselves to portraying the relationship as the focal point of the whole show. Production values are so-so, and the story suffers from the need to turn all supernatural elements into “sci-fi” due to censorship, but it’s utterly addictive, thanks to the main characters. (Seriously, it’s as gay as you can get in China these days, I think, with lots of flirting, longing glances and sacrificing themselves for each other – so no happy ending, but very emotionally satisfying.)